The use of wireless communication devices (WCDs) is becoming increasingly prevalent and popular in modern life. To provide wireless communication service to such WCDs (also often referred to as smart phones, client devices, user equipment, mobile stations, subscriber devices, access terminals, and the like), a wireless service provider typically operates a radio access network (RAN) that defines coverage areas in which subscribers' WCDs can be served by the RAN and obtain connectivity to other networks such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet. Using a WCD, a user is able to communicate in real-time with others. Such communication includes communications by voice, as well as data communications. RANs also provide WCDs with services such as text messaging (using a protocol or service such as the Short Message Service (SMS)) so that the user may be able to exchange, for example, text messages between the user of the WCD and others.
As the use of WCDs has grown, so too has the functionality of WCDs. These WCDs run a variety of mobile operating systems, such as Blackberry OS, iPhone OS, PALM OS®, WINDOWS MOBILE®, SYMBIAN OS®, and ANDROID®, just to name a few. WCDs now also support many different productivity, information, and entertainment applications. For instance, some popular mobile-phone platforms support e-mail, calendar, contact management, web browsing, navigation, location mapping, and gaming applications.
One typical application provided on a WCD is a phone book or contacts list utility application. This application allows for storing name data, mobile identification numbers, and user identifiers associated with various other communication applications, among other things, for a set of “contacts” that the user can thereafter use to engage in communication. Once the “contacts” are stored, communication may be made with a contact, for example, by selecting the contact using a user interface. Communication may also be received by the contact, upon which the WCD will notify the user of the WCD of the contact initiating the communication. The contact list is usually stored on the device and/or a server in a contacts file, list, or database and can be updated and edited by an authorized user.